Just a Trim
by VoyeurTheNinja
Summary: During an everyday afternoon, Kaoruko and Futaba decide to spend the time simply tending to one another.


A small sigh slipped between Futaba's lips as she stared at what she had just prepared for the late afternoon: Used newspapers were neatly laid-out across the floor of her dorm room, the chair she often used for studying placed neatly in the middle of the organized floor-covering as next to it, sat a small table that was previously next to her bed. With a huff, the redhead placed a small tray on the table, the scissors on the tray clattering for a moment as she double-checked the hand-held mirror, spray-bottle, comb, clips and towel she had arranged.

"That should do it," she said to herself once she had made sure everything was set. Glancing at the bedroom window, yellow sunlight visibly poked through through the gaps in-between the curtains as Futaba leaned back on her study-table and crossed her arms, waiting.

Lately, Kaoruko had been commenting to herself repeatedly about how hot it has been, and with that hair of hers, the summer heat hasn't been exactly merciful on the girl. Thus, after hearing enough of her wary complaints, the two arranged to get the girl a small haircut to alleviate her discomfort. Futaba herself was fine with her own hair, even then, the heat never really bothered her, so she thought they'd save some cash and do this task with her own two hands.

Her ears perked up at the sound of the doorknob turning and Futaba gave a relieved sigh when Kaoruko finally stepped into the room. The girl gave a surprised glance at what the redhead had prepared for her before placing her bag on a nearby desk, "Took your sweet time, eh?"

"Oh, don't worry," she assured her in that distinct accent of hers as she held her hand over her mouth, "I was simply having a small chat with Tendou, that's all. I'm here now, aren't I? I'll be in your care then, _Futaba_," she finished her sentence in a mildly-teasing tone before giving a bow that the redhead couldn't tell was genuine or not.

Regardless, Futaba walked over to the chair she had set up and stood behind it, giving the seat a small pat, "Anyway, hurry up and sit down. It's almost dinner time, so I'd prefer this to be quick."

Once the blue-haired girl had taken her seat in a pristine, lady-like manner, Futaba draped the towel she had prepared over Kaoruko's shoulders and tied it firmly. The towel was long enough to cover the girl from neck-to-toe, and the tightness of it prompted a small complaint that was most likely in jest. Futaba silently carried on afterwards, spraying the girl's hair damp with a bottle of water before slowly combing her long, blue hair. It wasn't the first time Futaba had done this, so her hands were swift and precise as she carried out her work, the chirping of birds outside audible to their ears all the while.

Usually, in moments like this, the two would start bantering with one another, trading sharp remarks and teasing comments repeatedly to fill in the silence and pass the time. But that wasn't the case for today. The only sounds made were the repeated snipping noises made by Futaba's scissors, and the soft hum that Kaoruko was making. The latter was a pleasant sensation to one's ears, as Futaba recognized it as the song often played during _Starlight_; a gentle yet sad tune that was often carried out on the keys of a piano. With the general silence of the room, such a quiet hum was easily perceivable as the redhead eventually found herself humming alongside her for the following minutes.

It was moments like this that she couldn't help but cherish the most. A quiet escape from the outside world, the cut-throat competition of entertainment, as well as the very concept of the Revues. What were mere minutes, felt like an eternity to Futaba as she carried out her work.

Their small duet ended just as the final _snip_ of Futaba's scissors could be heard. Placing her scissors down on the tray with a small clatter, she gave a sigh and dusted her hands clean, "Finally finished," she took a brush and began sweeping the stray strands of hair off Kaoruko's shoulders, "Come on, get up. I'm starv-" stepping in front of the girl, Futaba was taken aback as she finally noticed that the blue-haired girl had fallen asleep in the midst of her work. She didn't realize when exactly the girl had done so, but the redhead didn't expect such a thing to happen so easily, even for a sleepyhead like Kaoruko.

Gulping, Futaba couldn't help but stare at the girl's sleeping form, almost as though she was entranced by what was before her. Her breath was calm and steady, her chest rising in a peaceful rhythm as the light poking between the curtains shone a nice, yellow glow on her back. With pursed lips, Futaba slowly drew closer to her, the distance between their faces decreasing with each passing second as her approach was almost agonizingly sluggish. She stared at those pink lips, held her breath, and closed her eyes.

"Oh my," she only felt the touch of a fingertip on her lips, Kaoruko's teasing tune snapping her back to reality as her eyes reopened to glance at her partner's smug smile, "It's a bit early in the day to be so bold now, isn't it?"

Immediately drawing her face away, Futaba stumbled backwards to recollect herself, almost knocking against her study-table as her face was completely red. Finally drawing in some air into her lungs, she awkwardly coughed into her fist, "There was a strand of hair on your face. I was just taking it off."

"You're a terrible liar."

"And you're a frustrating tease," there was barely a second between their remarks.

After a moment of silence that went on as Kaoruko simply smiled at her partner, Futaba's face returned to its previous shade and the girl stood behind Kaoruko once more to untie to the towel around her neck, "Anyway, this should be alright. Not too different from the usual, but it should feel better than before," she took off the towel and let the strands of blue fall down to the newspapers at their feet.

Standing up, Kaoruko stretched after sitting down for a considerable amount of time while Futaba began to put away the chair, table and her items, "Thank you, Futaba," she said in her usual teasing tone, "As always, it seems that I can depend on your whenever I require help," a glance back at the redhead allowed her to see Futaba's face turning red once more, something that prompted an almost feline smile on her lips.

"Yeah, whatever," she avoided her gaze, "Let's just hurry up and get dinner already," setting her tray on her study table, Futaba's eyes widened when she felt Kaoruko plant a quick, soft kiss on her cheeks. It barely lasted a second, but she froze where she stood in that very moment, a reaction that not even the stage could even incur upon her as her face turned into the same shade of red that was her hair. It was only when she heard the doorknob turning that her senses came back to her.

"Come on, Futaba, I'd like to have a _nice_ dessert after our dinner."

Rubbing her temples, Futaba let out a small, flustered sigh and finished whatever she had to clean up, before following her partner out the door, hand-in-hand.


End file.
